Measures to Keep Heart Failure Patients From Returning to the Hospital

FRIDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- Hospital teams can take six
steps to help heart failure patients avoid another hospital stay
within the month after they leave, a new study finds.

Each step alone reduces the risk, but following all six
recommendations could lower readmissions by as much as 2 percent.
That could have a huge impact on the health system, according to
the lead author of the study appearing July 16 in the journal
Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

In heart failure, the heart can't pump well enough to keep up
with its workload, and the body gets too little blood and oxygen to
meet its needs.

"A million people are hospitalized with heart failure each year and about 250,000 will be back in the hospital within a month," Elizabeth Bradley, a professor of public health and faculty director of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute at Yale University, said in a journal news release. "If we could keep even 2 percent of them from coming back to the hospital, that could equal a savings of more than $100 million a year."

She and her colleagues analyzed nearly 600 U.S. hospital surveys
that were conducted between November 2010 and May 2011 for two
nationwide programs meant to reduce hospital readmissions for heart
failure patients.

The following six steps were identified as most effective:

Forming partnerships with community doctors to deal with
readmission issues

Collaborating with other hospitals to create consistent
strategies to reduce readmission

Having nurses supervise medication plan coordination

Scheduling follow-up appointments for patients before they
leave the hospital

Contacting patients on any test results received after they are
discharged

Less than one-third of the hospitals followed most of the steps,
and only 7 percent used all six, according to the study.

"Our findings highlight the importance of the full system of care and the value of coordination among providers for addressing readmissions," Bradley said. "Hospitals and their patients would benefit from considering these six strategies and starting to implement them."

More information

The U.S. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has more
about
heart failure.

Please be aware that this information is provided to supplement the care provided by your physician. It is neither intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. CALL YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER IMMEDIATELY IF YOU THINK YOU MAY HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider prior to starting any new treatment or with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.